Concern at the Core: Managing Smithsonian Collections A Summary of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Concern at the Core: Managing Smithsonian Collections

❇ A Summary of Key Points ❇ Office of Policy and Analysis January, 2005

A COMPLEX PICTURE

Diversity across units

– Numbers – Types – Histories

Interrelated with other programs

– Exhibitions – Research – Education

Enormous scale in some units

– NMNH (number) – NASM (size)

By number, NMNH holds 88%

• f SI museum collections

NPM NMNH NMAH NMAI CH-NDM NPG HMSG AM NMAfA NZP HSD FSG SAAM NASM

By area, NMNH holds 42%

• f all SI collections storage

NPM NMNH NMAH NMAI CH-NDM NPG HMSG AM NMAfA NZP HSD FSG SAAM NASM SIA SAO CFCH AAA OAHP SCMRE

MUSEUMS ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES, AND OTHER UNITS

Average Growth Rate is 0.4% per Year

125000000 130000000 135000000 140000000 145000000 150000000 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 2 1 2 2

6% Growth over 15 Years

Units have different problems to different degrees

At-risk Collections Poor Storage Poor Equipment Insufficient Staff

Some Recent Accomplishments

New storage and facilities – NMAI, NASM, POB Digitization – NMAI, NASM – Art museums’ CIS Best practices – NMNH profiling, offsite enhancement – SIL/SIA paper conservation program – Deaccessioning and disposal at HMSG and NPM New planning initiatives – NMAH intellectual framework

Pressing Problems

Garber Storage Multi-MIMSY Acquisitions

NMAH NMNH

Collections Care

Garber Storage

• Asbestos-

contaminated

• bjects
• Fragile, expired

containment

• Crowded,

inadequate space

NMAH

NMAH

Multi-MIMSY

• Insufficient staff
• Insufficient funds

Collections Care

• Insufficient

collections staff

• Insufficient

conservation staff

• Inadequate

storage space

NMNH

Acquisitions

• Orphaned

collections

• Endangered and

rare species

• New species

NMNH

Longer-term Issues

• Inadequate storage

Optimal Acceptable Below Acceptable

39% 25% 36%

Optimal Acceptable Below Acceptable

12% 43% 45%

All Storage Leased Facilities

• Collections care staff losses

May 1994 413 Collections Care Staff May 2000 May 2004 380 Collections Care Staff 330 Collections Care Staff

Collections care staff store items, maintain collections data, ensure the physical condition of the collections and make them accessible to users.

• Incomplete catalogues, inventories,

and condition assessments

• Reluctance to deaccession and dispose

• Resources insufficient to meet desired standards
• f care and access

Collections continue to grow Standards in preservation keep rising New technologies create new demands Demands for greater access keep increasing

Pressures

• n Smithsonian Collections

Are Constant

Collections Should Be Viewed And Managed as a Critical Part

• f the Smithsonian Mission

Unless collections are approached strategically, the long-term problems with collections will persist and, likely, grow.

A Disciplined Approach

Five Steps to Strengthening SI Collections Management

• 1. Define what “national” means

and identify a core purpose

One way of looking at this….

Type

Encyclopedic National Identity Subject Specialist

Purpose

Build Collections for Research/Reference Display Objects Representative of the Nation Display Objects Representative of the Subject

• 2. Align unit priorities and resources

to protect the core purpose

• Obtain additional staff and funds.
• Limit inadequately funded non-core

activities.

• Serve first the primary users.
• Pursue one-time deaccession and disposal.

• 3. Sharpen decision-making by
• Eliminating processing backlogs
• Addressing inventory backlogs
• Profiling SI core collections
• Re-writing collection plans

４. Monitor progress

• Set performance goals
• Establish performance measures
• Collect performance measurement data
• Report and assess results

• 5. Exercise leadership and hold

staff accountable at all levels